Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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SUPPLEMENT. THKSIIB-TKEASIKV BILL. Full Text of the Extraordinary Measure. Section 1. Be it enacted by the House of Representatives of the Uni ted States of America in Congress assembled, That there may be esta blished in each of the counties of each of the States of the United States a branch of the treasury de partment of the United States to be known and designated as a sub treasury, as hereinafter provided. When one hundred or more citizens of any county in any State shall petition the Secretary of the Treas ury rp(piesting the location of a sub- treasury in such county and shall, tirst, present written evidence duly authenticated by oath or affirmation of the county clerk and sheriff, show ing that the gross average amount per aiiiium of cotton, wheat, oats, corn and tobacco produced and sold in that count) for the last preceding two years exceeds the sum of $500,- 000 at current prices in-said county at the time; and, second, pie cut u good and sufficient bond for title to a suitable and adequate amount of land to be donated to the (tovern- nieut of the United States for the location of the sub-treasury build ings, and third, .• certificate of elec tion showing that the site for the location of such sub-treasury has been chosen by a popular vote o* the citizens of that county, and also naming the manager of the sub- treasury elected at said election, for the purpose of taking charge of said sub-treasury under such requirements as may be prescribed. It shall in that case be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to proceed without delay to establish a sub-treasury de partment in such county, as herein after provided. Section 2. That any owner of cotton, wheat, corn, oats or tobacco may deposit the same in the snh- treasnry nearest the point of its pro duction and receive therefor treasury notes, hereinafter provided for, equal at the date of deposit to SO per cent of the net value of such products at the market price; said price to be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury under rules apd regula tions prescribed, bassed upon the price current in the leading cotton, tobacco or grain markets of the I'tii- ted States, but no deposits consisting in the whole or in part of cotton, tobacco or grain imported into this country shall be received under the provision of this Act Section 3. That the Secretary of the Treasury shall cause to be pre pared treasury notes in such amounts as may be required fot the purpose of the above section, and in such form and denominations as be may prescribe, provided that no note shall be of a denomination of less than one dollar or more than one thousand. Section 4. That the treasury notes issued under this Act shall be receivable for customs, and shall be a full legal tender for all debts, Imth public and private, and such notes when held by any national banking association shall be counted as part of the lawful reserve. Section 5, It shall be the duly of the manager of a sub-treasury when cotton, grain or tobacco is received by him on deposit as above prescrib ed, to give a warehouse a receipt, showing the amount and grade or quality of such cotton, tobacco or grain, and its valu ■ at date of de posit; the amount of treasury notes the sub-treasurer has advanced oa the products; that the interest on the money so advanced is at the rate of 1 per cent per annum; expressly stating the amount of insurance, weighing, classing, warehousing and other charges (hat will run against such deposit of cotton, grain or to bacco. All such warehouse receipts shall be negoti ible by endorsement. Section 6. That 'he cotton, grain or tobacco deposited in the sub-treas ury under the provisions of th : s Act may be redeemed by the holder of the ware house receipt herein privid- ed for, either at the sub-treasury, in w hich the product is peposited, or at any other sub-treasury, by the sur render of s ich ware house receipt and tin payment in lawful money of the United States of the same amount originally advanced by the sub-treas ury against the product and such further amount as may be necessary to discharge all interest that may have acerurd against the advance made on the deposit of produce; and all insurance, ware house and other charges that attach to the product for ware housing and handling. AH lawful money received at the sub- treasury as a return of the actual amount of money advanced by the t in-eminent against farm products as above speci'ied sha’l be returned with a full report of the transaction to the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall make record of the trans action and cancel and destroy the money so returned. A sub-treasury that receives a ware house receipt as above provided, together with the re turn of the proper amount, or lawful moil •)• ami all charges as herein pro vided when the product for which it is given is stored in seme other sub- treasury shall give an o’-der on such other sub-treasury for the delivery of th * cotton, grain or tobacco as the ease may be, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall provide for the adjustment between sub-treasuries of all charges. Section 7. The Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe such rules and regulations as are necessary for governing the details of the manage ment of the sub-treasuries, fixing the salary, tioud and responsibility of each of the managers of sub-treas- uries, (provided that the salary of any manager of a sub-treasury shall not exceed the sum of $100,000 per an num,) holdingthe managers of sub- treasuri«8 jiersonally responsible on their bonds for weights and classtifi- eations of all produce, providing for the rejection of unmerchantable grades of cotton, grain or tobacco or for such as may liwin bad condi tion, and shall provide rules for the sale at public auction of all cotton, corn, oats, wheat or tobacco that has lieen-placed on dejiosit for a longer periisl than twelve months after due notice published. 'The proceeds of the sale of such product shall be ap plied first, to the reimbursement to the sub-treasury of the amount ori ginally advanced together with all charges, and second, the balance shall be held on deposit for the benefit of the holder of the ware house receipt, who sluill be entitled to receive the same on the surrender of his ware house receipt The Secretary of the Treasury shall also provide iules for the duplication of any pa|iers in case of loss or destruc tion. Section 8 It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury, when Section 1 of this Act has been com plied with, to cause to be erected ac cording to the laws and cusb ms gov erning the construction of Govern ment buildings a suitubh sub-treas ury building, with such ware house or elevator facilities as the character ami amount of the products of that section may indicate as necessary. Sttcl* building shall 1 e supplied with all modern conveniences for handling and safely storing and preserving the products likely t > be deposited. Section 9. 'That any gain arising from the charges for insurance, weighing, storing, classing, holding, shipping, interest or other charges, after paying all expenses of conduct ing the sub-treasury shall be ac counted for and paid into the treas ury of the United States. Section 10. 'The term of office of manager uf a sub-treasury shall be two years, and the regular election to fill such office shall la* at the same time as the election for members of the House of Representatives of the Congress of tin United States. lu case of a vacancy in the office of manager of the sub-treasury 1 y death, resignation or otherwise, the Secretary of the Treasury shall have power to apoint a manager for the uuexpired term. Section 11. That the sum of $50,- 000,000, or so much thereof as may be found n ‘cessary to carry out the provisions of this Act, is hereby ap propriated out of any moneys in the treasury, not otherwise appropriated, for that purpose. Section 12. r| 'hat so much of any or all other Acts as are in conflict with the prov isions of this Act is hereby repealed. ExIhcIs from I r. Stoke’s Address. The Alliance has announced as one of its demands the establishment of ware houses in which non-perisha ble products may be deposited and on which treasury notes be issued. 1 wish your special attent on here, for 1 will he able to present only a gene ral summary. First. I think nearly all the financiers agree that there is an in sufficiency of circulating medium even for ordinary business, and all economists agree that tliere is an im portant relation between this circu lating medium and price. I might cite to dozens of the greatest econo mists. C.ilhntin was explicit. Stuart Mill, Clay, all were explicit on that point But if I lacked in authority 1 could appeal to your common sense and prove it us explicitly as they. If you have a horse worth $250 and are forced by circumstanees to sell, and if no one h is more than $150, of course you can get no more, even if the horse is worth more. While there is no exact ratio yet the gene ral truth is established. If a com modity is worth so much with bhe circulating medium and you cut the medium, you of course cut the price. While speaking aliout the'abnor mal condition I will answer thuargu- nients against the measure. It does not give the farmer special privi leges, but if it did they would be rather in the line of evening up. There are three, and only three, classes of producers, mining, manu facturing and agriculture, but two are not producer! in a strict sense— mining and manufacturing. But an agriculturist when he goes into his field and works nine months, using soil, sunshine and rain, is a producer, and he only. There are two ways of evening up unequal things, subtract from the larger and add to the smaller, there is an equality. Men who own United States bonds have the special privilege of depositing with the Government, and it issues curreucy on this deposit. But we dare not take away that privilege, because tl ere is not enough eur- xency. Then ndd some privileges to the farmer. Some argue it would hurt the miners and manufacturers, but they are always protected, they can put their products on the market every day, but not the farmer. So this is to place the farmer equal to the other two producers, and he is entitled to it provided he can give as solid a basis for issuing currency. Here he gave the plan of Mr. S. M. Stone in the Forum, who says he admits the necessity of elasticity, but does not admit the Alliance plan. He offers an original plan; proposes a bank of issue to issue currency on products. I have this objection; The same men will con trol the currency as now, but 1 claim Mr. Stone as a convert to the Alli ance nian of elasticity. Hence we conclude that currency is insufficient and lacks flexibility. He *aid that on a State bond issue we would have the same trouble that we contended against before the war. The notes were good only in the State that issued them. I know that the notes of South Carolina did pa* in New York or Liverpool. But it was because South Carolina shipped cotton. Silver, gold and national bank notes are good as far as they go. Now, if all these can get value for their dejwsits, why in the name of common sense cannot the farmer deposit his product and get money on it? Extracts from Senator Butler’* Address. Mr. Stokes: We are discussing the plan, not the bill. Butler: You say that we must discuss the plan, not the bill. How can I get the plan without the bill. I'discuss something tangible, not a floating vapor. (Produces bill.) 1 cannot conscientiously support the bill. There is not a man in (his audience who has not intuitive principles of home rule and self- government Every man has this. No man would submit to his private affairs being troubled. Communities, municipalities, counties are governed by it • No ominty would tolerate a disturbance of its aflairs by outside agencies. A step further, this ap plies to the State as well. The Federal Government is supreme, but itcanuot, dare uot, dictate to a State Government This bill then is op posed to this principle. This ad vocates the perpetually of paternal government He first discussed the ware house system. Every county must be able to deposit productions to a value not less than $500,000. Every county would not get a ware house. New berry, your own county could not get in. Horry, Pickens, Barnwell, Beaufort Georgetown and Levit g- ton would not be on the list I like to meet a fair man like Mr. Stokes, and I have the thing he cornands—a remedy ilso. Senator Butler then read the bill through. In the section where it pro vides for a manager to take charge of the sub-treasury he commented as follows: Do you know who would be chosen in the present state of affairs? A Republican would be elected as mana ger. I know Edgefield’s man. A mulatoo would probably govern tyrannicaily your sub-treasury here. Voice: Go ahead, General. In sec. 5 it gives the manager alone the right to grade products—he alone the final arbiter. What chance would a poor man or a rich man either have under such circumstances? The grade of cotton and corn would come down to nothing. Where would you be with 80 per cent of your pro ducts value in your pocket? Talk to me about flexebility of currency. When do we want money most? Is it not in the spring? Ac cording to this the money shall go back to the treasury at the very time it is most needed. Fn Section 11 it is provided that $50,000,000 be appropriated to carry out the provisions of the Act It is for building ware houses? Some say that the Government should issue money directly to the people. But the Constitution is in the way. Mon ey cannot be issued unless by appro priation by Congress, and that pro vision was put there by the wisdom and Sagacity of the frar- mers to protect the people against dishonest officers; to protect them against just what this bill wants. The sub-treasury bill would sot stand ten minutes under the Supreme Court. State Senator Keitt: Was the New Orleans Exposition uppropria- priation made in this way? Senator Butler It was appro priated by the general welfare clause or the blanket clause of the Consti- tion. Congress has a definite specific power and can appropriate for any national affair. There have been, however, appropriations especially for suffering humanity’s benefit, for cases of distress. The Secretary of War cannot lend a tent or a gun, the Secretary of the Navy must hold his peace unless authorized by Congress. Yet ♦his bill wants to lend money direct to the people. This same objection of the uncer tainty of the amount of the appro priation is against the force bill. Notwithstanding Mr. Stokes.s state ment to the contrary, Mr. Calhoun never contemplated lending money direct to the people. The treasury is not a bark, but is for managing the Government disbursements. I want to borrow some money from you at 2 per cent. We have losses and all such losses will be made up by taxation. Yet this is what you wish. These sub-treasuries are only branches of the Federal treasury. The people cannot get the money ex cept they have something to sell for it. Another step I would take to teh settlement of the “unevenness” is this: Put ten acres of cotton to th* mule for three years. Let farmers do this and they will have th* world at their feet. They would be then the most prosperous people on the globe. As for not being able to put their products ou the market at any time is all stuff. There is not an acre of ground in Newberry that cannot make something to sell every month of the year. I am opposed to only tw o planks in the Alliance platforn . The sub- treasury bill is unwise, end the worst thing for the farmers. I am also op- {Hjseil to Governmental control or ojieration of all railroads, for the fol lowing reatou: The more you can divert the interest of the people from the Government the better off will the masses be.